World War I Collector - WW1/WW2 Memorabilia Collection - World War IIhttp://www.ww1collector.com/Collection/World-War-II.html
Sun, 15 Sep 2019 05:39:11 -0400Sigsiu Online Business Index 2 FeedCreatorSmalley, Howard J.http://www.ww1collector.com/Details/Smalley-Howard-J.html
Howard Jasper Smalley, Jr. was born in Salem Oregon on May 5, 1926. With his parents consent, he enlisted in the Naval Reserve on September 17, 1943 in Portland, Oregon. He went to training at Navy Training Station, Camp Farragut, Idaho 21 September, 1943. At some point he was promoted to S2c, thence to S1c 29 March 1944. On 20 May,1944 he reported aboard the USS Bismark Sea. He married the former Eleanor Rose Struck on August 2, 1944. Smalley was aboard the Bismark Sea when it was struck by 2 Japanese suicide planes on the evening of February 21, 1945. His body was not recovered. He was one of 300 killed out of a crew of about 900. Several destroyers were involved with search and rescue. Smalley&#39;s short life ended at age 19. Sic Smalley&#39;s medal group includes only his officially engraved posthumous Type 2 Purple Heart and its Navy short titled case. Research from the National Archives and Ancestry.com is included as well as copies of newspaper articles about his death. Mon, 08 Jul 2019 18:54:44 -0400Ross, Richard A.http://www.ww1collector.com/Details/Ross-Richard-A.html
Richard Alvin Ross was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on May 6, 1919.Tue, 30 Apr 2019 18:37:00 -0400Jackson, Wilton A.http://www.ww1collector.com/Details/Jackson-Wilton-A.html
Wilton A. Jackson was born in Springfield Illinois on July 2, 1917 to his parents Charles and Zora Jackson. He had 4 brothers. He was married to his wife, Margaret before 1940. He enlisted in the Navy in Chicago on September 1, 1942. He trained at Great Lakes, and reported aboard the Honolulu on October 17, 1942. He was promoted to FC3C on September 1, 1944. On October 20, Honolulu was hit in the port side by a Japanese torpedo plane. A number were killed and wounded, an Jackson was listed as missing. His body was recovered and positively identified on October 30, 1944. A telegram was sent to his wife dated November 1, 1944 listing him as MIA. Jackson was initially buried in the Pacific. At his wife&#39;s request, his remains were returned to Springfield, Illinois in 1948. The Vancil Funeral Home handled the arrangements. He was to be buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, but the Cemetery shows no record. The group consists of Jackson&#39;s officially engraved Navy Type 2 Purple Heart with its short titled display case, plus internet research, St. Louis records and IDPF files. Sun, 19 Nov 2017 12:06:52 -0500McLain, Clayton O.http://www.ww1collector.com/Details/McLain-Clayton-O.html
Clayton O&#39;dell McLain was born September 7, 1914 in Elroy, Wisconsin. He enlisted in St. Louis, Missouri on January 4, 1942. Because of his career as a cook and baker, he was appointed Ship&#39;s Cook, 2nd class and sent to Great Lakes for training on January 20, 1942. At the time of his enlistment he was married to Florence Mary McLain and had 2 twin children (David Allen and Diane Allyne) born about 1939. He was living in Mauston, Wisconsin. His documents state that his wife was living in Chicago leading to the conclusion that they were separated. McLain previously had been in the Army for 18 months and was discharged June 12, 1939. In 1941, his father was deceased and his mother had remarried. McLain was assigned to the USS Cythera on March 9, 1942. This ship was a private yacht that saw service in WW1 and then returned to private hands. On December 31, 1941, it was sold to the US Navy for $1, and was commissioned on March 3, 1942. She was wood planked with a length of 242 feet and beam of 28 feet. On May 1, 1941, at 0300, they set out from the Naval Base in Norfolk to transit to Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal. At 0045 hours on May, 2, she was attacked by U-402 about 115 miles east of Cape Fear, North Carolina. The ship was struck by one torpedo and it broke in half and sunk quickly. There were 2 survivors who were topside; the other 68 died. The survivors were picked up by the sub and spent the remainder of the war as prisoners. This group consists of McLain&#39;s offcially engraved Navy Type 1 Purple Heart made by the US Mint, its purple presntation case, internet reseach and his file from the National Archives. A copy of a photo of USS Cythera is shown below. A detailed account of this action can be found at: http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/170575s.htm (http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/170575s.htm) Tue, 31 Oct 2017 20:22:54 -0400Luke, Vernon T.http://www.ww1collector.com/Details/Luke-Vernon-T.html
Vernon Thomas Luke was born August 22, 1898 in Green Ba, Wisconsin to parents Samuel and Katherine. He was the oldest of five children. He served in the Army for a short time during WW1, although there are no records to support this. He enlisted in the Navy in Seattle on August 4, 1919, He was a MM2C and served on several ships for a period of 3 years. He reenlisted in Seattle on October 12, 1922 for a period of four years. In October, 1925, he changed his beneficiary to his wife June Coates. That document shows he had a child, June Mary. On November 18, 1925 he was issued a permanent appointment as MM1C. On October 12, 1926, he was honorably discharged. It appears he ran a car service garage in Turlock, California and then in 1940 applied for reenlistment in the Reserves. He was inducted December 30, 1940 in San Francisco. He was subsequently assigned to the USS Oklahoma, on February 19, 1941, which was sunk in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 with a loss of life of 429 Marines and Sailors. Vernon&#39;s group includes his officially engraved 1926 Navy Good Conduct medal, his Navy Type 1 officially engraved Purple Heart, made by the US Mint, and its purple presentation case, plus copies of his official files from St. Louis and internet research. Tue, 31 Oct 2017 20:03:48 -0400Thorn, Richard C.http://www.ww1collector.com/Details/Thorn-Richard-C.html
Richard Carroll Thorn was born July 25, 1922 in San Francisco to his parents August C. and Mary Isabelle (Wilson). The 1940 census shows Richard living with his parents at 1028 Hudson Street in Redwood City, California. Richard attended Sequoia Union High School in Redwood City from 1937 to 1939. His profession at enlistment was welder. That census shows that he had 2 brothers, August (Jr.) and Donald. The census shows the last name spelled Thorne, but he is the one and same. Richard was inducted into the Naval Reserve on January 8, 1942 in Redwood City as Apprentice Seaman. As he was under 21, his father signed as well. He reported to the San Diego Naval Training Station on January 19, 1942. He went to Bremerton for a short time and then reported aboard the Lexington in Boston on February 17, 1943 as Seaman 1st Class to which he advanced on November 1, 1942. Thorn was thus one of the commissioning crew. Thorn was on the Lexington during all its engagements in the Pacific in 1943 and early 1944. He was killed in action when a Japanese suicide plane hit the deck near the ship&#39;s island on November 5, 1944 in a battle near Luzon Island, Philippines. He was among about 50 KIA that day. There were also about 180 wounded in that action. S1c Thorn&#39;s body was never recovered, so he was listed as missing in action. The Lexington is now a museum ship moored at Corpus Christi. Panels in the ship list all of the casualties. S1c Thorn is not named on that list. However he is shown as one of 3 unidentified on the list. This research confirms that his name should be listed. This is an extensive group consisting of Thorn&#39;s Type 3 officially engraved posthumous Purple Heart, undated posthumous Good Conduct medal, original Purple Heart Certificate and its mailing envelope, WW2 Presidential Accolade signed by Harry Truman, with its mailing tube, Equator Crossing Certificate named to Thorn. In addition, the following medals are included: Asiatic Pacific Campaign, American Campaign and WW2 Victory medal. Also included is a Purple Heart ribbon bar and a Presidential Unit Citation ribbon bar. Also included in the group is August&#39;s original two sided WW1 Discharge and a modern strike WW1 Victory medal. Pictures of the casualty panel at the ship museum are included. There is internet research and his National Archives file that includes a copy of a letter to the parents from the Captain of the Lexington. Two rolled photos of Lexington crew members are also included. Tue, 31 Oct 2017 18:35:05 -0400Banks, Herman W.http://www.ww1collector.com/Details/Banks-Herman-W.html
Herman Wilson Banks was born May 12, 1920 in the small town of Jeff, Kentucky. His father is listed as James Banks. Herman enlisted in the Navy on May 14, 1940 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He trained at Great Lakes NTS. Hermon was an Able Seaman in 1940. Muster rolls show Herman on the USS Henderson, AP-1 on September 30, 1940. He is shown as EM3C on June 23, 1942 and was increased in rate to EM2C shortly thereafter. He was transferred to to the USS Midway October 23, 1943. On October 10, 1944 Midway was re-names USS St. Lo. This flew in the face of Naval tradition, since re-naming was considered bad luck. That turned out to be the case when it sunk October 25, 1944 with a loss of about 143 Navy officers and men according to Wikipedia. At the time of the casualty, father James was living in Yellow Springs, Ohio. This group consists of Banks&#39; officially engraved Type 2 Purple Heart, wide Purple Heart ribbon, short titled presentation case, plus internet research and copies of National Archives research. Mon, 30 Oct 2017 20:06:58 -0400Huston, Ralph C. Jr.http://www.ww1collector.com/Details/Huston-Ralph-C.-Jr.html
Ralph Clark Huston Jr. was born December 27, 1925 to his parents Ralph Sr. and Myrtle in Parkersburg West Virginia. He had four siblings Betty, Mary, Harry and Ora. Ralph graduated from Parkersburg High School in 1943 and enlisted in the Naval Reserve on September 9, 1943 in Huntington, West Virginia. He was at Great Lakes for training from October 2, 1943 to December 8, 1943, thence to training school in Newport, Rhode Island to April 8, 1944 where his grade was raised to S2c. Thereafter he went to sub school in New London until July 24, 1944. He was assigned to the USS Cobia and reported aboard on February 12, 1944. On February 18, Cobia sailed from Fremantle for her fourth war patrol in the Java Sea. On February 26, at 615PM, Huston was hit by 50 cal. machine gun fire from Japanese ships. He was taken below for treatment , but died at 0554 the next morning. He was prepared for burial that occurred at 6PM when he was taken topside on a door from the head and with full honors buried at sea with Cmdr. Beckler officiating. The pall bearers were Rad3c Hyde, Coxswain Gast, S1c Williams, Fmn1c Day. Guard of Honor was MM3c Boden, EM2c Congleton, TM3c Render, and MMM2c Dwyer. Seaman Huston was a 20MM Gunner when he was killed by gunfire in a sea battle with Japanese ships while on the surface on her 4th war patrol. Both ships were sunk by Cobia subsequently. The Cobia is now a museum ship based at Manitawoc, Wisconsin. A bronze plaque detailing this action and Hustin&#39;s death is on the deck of the sub. It is pictured below. The loss of S1C Ralph Huston os described in detail at: http://www.subvetpaul.com/SAGA_6_00.htm Highlight and right click this link and then search for the site. This group consists of Huston&#39;s officially engraved Type 2 posthumous Purple Heart and its short titled Purple Heart presentation box plus St. Louis National Archives research, internet research. With the group are original 8 by 10 glossy photos of the Cobia in Wisconsin, and photos of Huston taken during induction, and a copy of the photo of his burial at sea. A Cobia patch as pictured is included. Of particular interest are copies of letters from the officers on Cobia sent to Ralph Huston Sr. describing the action and the events following. Also included with the group are two books written by Cobia Pharmacists Mate Herbert L. Starmer about his experiences on Cobia and his later submarine life. Starmer was the attendant who tried to save Huston&#39;s life. Huston&#39;s injuries were way too severe however. Sun, 29 Oct 2017 18:45:16 -0400Kilgore, William W.http://www.ww1collector.com/Details/Kilgore-William-W.html
William Waldo Kilgore was born May 15, 1925 to parents Andrew and Miranda. He enlisted in the Navy September 25, 1942 in Jacksonville, Florida, and was part of the commissioning crew on SC-743 on February 27, 1943. Sonarman 2nd Class William Kilgore served aboard the sub chaser SC-743. He was killed in action on December 16, 1943 when SC-743 was strafed by Japanese aircraft during the landings at Arawe, New Britain. Kilgores story is told in the book Splinter Fleet: The Wooden Subchasers of World War II by Theodore R. Treadwell: On 16 December a second echelon of LCTs was assigned to bring renewed supplies across from Finschafen. SC 743, under the command of W.W. Bill Robinson, led this group to provide navigation and additional firepower, such as it was. Also in the group were two APcs and the YMS 50, a minesweeper. Army engineers met the group at the entrance to Arawe harbor and, after instructing the LCTs which beaches to head for, told Robinson to report to the beach master to arrange for the return schedule after the LCTs had unloaded. The APcs also came in to unload, while YMS 50 remained on patrol outside the harbor entrance. Just then Lieutenant Robinson, who was leaning over the side windscreen of the flying bridge talking to the beach master, saw a row of splashes zipping towards them across the water, aimed just forward of the pilothouse. At first there was no sound, but suddenly enemy planes had swooped in upon them, strafing and dropping bombs as they flashed by. All ships let loose, smoke filled the air, and the hills reverberated with noise. When it was over, Robinson looked down from the flying bridge and saw a large pool of blood on the deck amidships. Two men of the 743 were down on the foredeck, Kilgore with no apparent mark on him and Gentry face down with the middle of his back completely ripped away. Both men were loaders on the 40-mm gun. When they were knocked down, Worthington Worthy Adams, the executive officer stepped in to load. Kittlesen, on one of the 20-mm gunners, had been hit on both inner thighs with a large piece of shrapnel. There were several bullet and shrapnel holes on the ship but no structural damage. The acrid odor of gunsmoke hung in the air. Kilgore had been killed instantly, the only sign a tiny bullet hole in his chest, while Gentry had been hit mortally by shrapnel from an antipersonnel bomb. Initially buried in USAF Cemetery, Finschafen #1, British New Guinea, Kilgore was later repatriated to West Oaklawn Cemetery in Plant City, Florida. SoM2C Kilgore&#39;s group includes his officially engraved Navy Type 1 sterling silver Purple Heart with its purple presentation box, plus research and pictures from the internet. Tue, 05 Sep 2017 14:07:57 -0400Clark, Walter, J.http://www.ww1collector.com/Details/Clark-Walter-Jr.html
Walter Junior Clark was born on August 27, 1924 in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania to his parents, Walter and Mary. Mary, who was 8 years older than Walter, died February 10, 1929, and his father re-married. He had 2 brothers and 5 sisters including those born after his father re-married. One of his brothers, Arlie was killed in action in Germany on October 9, 1944 at age 21 as a PFC in the 39th Infantry, 9th Infantry. He had been wounded at least twice previously. There is some confusion about Walter&#39;s name. He can be found as the name above or as Walter Clark, Junior. It is concluded that the &ldquo;Junior&rdquo; was his middle name based on Navy records.Walter enlisted in the Navy on April 23, 1943 in Pittsburgh. After basic training, he transferred to the sub base in New London on December 31, 1943; thence to Navy Base 128 on June 9, 1944; thence to USS Plunger on August 22, 1944. He was transferred to the USS Tang on September 18, 1944. Walter went on USS Tang&#39;s fifth and final patrol starting September 25, 1944, just 6 days after reporting aboard. Tang was commanded by Richard H. O&#39;Kane. QM3 Walter Clark&#39;s group includes his officially engraved posthumous solid brooch Navy Type 2 Purple Heart and its short titled Purple Heart presentation case; plus his National Archives file, and internet research. On her second major action on the fifth patrol, Tang made contact with a large Japanese convoy on 23 October. She closed three ships in a night surface attack, two of her torpedoes hitting the closest, one more hit the second, and two more blasted the stern of the farthest ship. While lining up her stern tubes on a tanker, Tang had to maneuver quickly to avoid a transport, which was attempting to ram. Since the tanker was also trying to ram, the transport&#39;s efforts backfired, and she ended up ramming the tanker instead. Tang fired her four stern tubes at 400 yards, and the tanker sank. As Tang raced away to avoid the escorts the transport exploded. The next evening, Tang found another convoy. She fired six torpedoes at three targets. Running parallel to the convoy while picking another target, she fired her stern tubes at another transport and tanker. The tanker blew up and a hit was observed on the transport. A destroyer, which had come around the tanker&#39;s stern, also blew up. The transport remained afloat, but was dead in the water. Returning after hauling off to avoid a counter attack, Tang fired her last two torpedoes at the tanker. The last torpedo was defective and began a circular run. Tang put on full emergency power and maneuvered to evade, but the torpedo returned and struck her aft. O&#39;Kane and eight others went into the water. Five more used their Momsen Lung escape gear to get to the surface from the sunken submarine. By morning, only nine, including O&#39;Kane, were still alive to be picked up and imprisoned by the Japanese. They spent the rest of the war as prisoners. Dick O&#39;Kane received the Medal of Honor for this action. His citation reads:For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the USS Tang operating against two enemy Japanese convoys on 23 and 24 October 1944, during her fifth and last war patrol. Boldly maneuvering on the surface into the midst of a heavily escorted convoy, Cmdr. O&#39;Kane stood in the fusillade of bullets and shells from all directions to launch smashing hits on three tankers, coolly swung his ship to fire at a freighter and, in a split second decision, shot out of the path of an onrushing transport, missing it by inches. Boxed in by blazing tankers, a freighter, transport and several destroyers, he blasted two of the targets with his remaining torpedoes and, with pyrotechnics bursting on all sides, cleared the area. Twenty four hours later he again made contact with a heavily escorted convoy steaming to support the Leyte campaign with reinforcements and supplies and with crated planes piled high on each unit. In defiance of the enemy&#39;s relentless fire, he closed the concentration of ship and in quick succession sent two torpedoes each into the first and second transports and an adjacent tanker, finding his mark with each torpedo in a series of violent explosions at less than 1,000 yard range. With ships bearing down on all sides, he charged the enemy at high speed, exploding the tanker in a burst of flame, smashing the transport dead on the water, and blasting the destroyer with a mighty roar which rocked the Tang from stem to stern. Expending his last two torpedoes into the remnants of a once powerful convoy before his own ship went down, Cmdr. O&#39;Kane aided by his gallant command, achieved an illustrious record of heroism in combat, enhancing the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.Wed, 30 Aug 2017 14:55:31 -0400